COACH DEREK MASON
RYAN WHITE
- Started slow. Didn’t play the second half the way they’d wished against UF.
- Likes the way Georgia’s playing. It’s playing at a high level.
- VU is getting more confidence and getting better, but it’s still not enough.
- How have expectations changed since he’s been here? It’s about creating a culture. You can’t make excuses due to a tough stretch of football. That defeats what you are trying to be.
- He likes the stretch of teams they’re playing because it tests every part of the program. That’s what they need.
- He still thinks this is a special team but it’s trying to find its way through a tough stretch of games. That builds character.
- It’s not like they were surprised with the schedule.
- “Right now, our strain to finish is not enough.” Asked what that meant. he said when there’s the possibility to get to the other side, you do what it takes. He’s not sure what that is yet “but it’s that dig from the bottom… that lies within your inner core.” For each person that may be different. “But when you do it, I can tell you what it looks like. Until I visibly see it, I’m going to keep asking for that.”
- Is he surprised by the frequency of blowouts in the SEC? The good teams are playing well. “The other teams, Vanderbilt included, are finding their way.”
- Is there parity in the SEC? “The upper crust are the upper crust. Everybody’s trying to get there. … It’s a dogfight trying to get there.”
- Herdon and Bryce Lewis, are they back? They’re practicing, then clarified he wasn’t going to tell us that. Said he’ll make decisions of who’s where on Saturday.
- On Shurmur: “People think game managing is bad. Now these days that’s what you need to get to the other side.”
- On who he expects to see vs. Georgia. He expects to see Frohm. “He’s not fooling me… we can quit with the coaching dramatics.”
- “When you’ve got a four-headed monster at RB, life is pretty good. They can run when they want to.”
- GA defense is the best he’s seen in a while.
- On sacks: said Kyle’s doing a good job getting the ball out.
- Must do a better job of protecting Kyle and running the ball.
- When they get speed in space, it makes it easier to run the ball.”
- They’re getting one-on-one coverage and those guys get chances to make plays.
- Like Donaven Tennyson.
- “When we’re matched up one on one, we’re going to make people pay.”
- “You’ve got to re-think what your process is.” —seeming to indicate they may open the offense and get the ball more to guys in space.
- Going into the season, he knew the pass game was ahead of the run game.
- “This is not an overnight organization. It’s a day-by-day process. … We’ve got to be in a growth mindset,” and then casually mentioned some things that included facilities. “It’s been heading in the right direction. … coaches get weary and don’t stay the course.”
- Georgia D vs. Alabama D. “Georgia’s 5-0, they’re a top-5 team. I’ve played Alabama, I haven’t played Georgia yet.”
- On running outside vs. inside: “You’ve got to find different ways to balance out your run attack… it’s being able to have smoke and mirrors on the perimeter… have some eye candy. … (show) whatever you’ve got in your arsenal… especially with teams with speed. … I know people think simplistic is good (but indicated it’s different to do that against speed.”
- Hinted they’re healthy enough at WR that they may try to do some things differently.
- On playing four-straight ranked opponents for the first time in school history: “Every game makes us better.”
- Is it hard to tell how much they’re improving? “No. You can learn from every game no matter who you’re playing.”
- Why are they having more success in the pass than the run? He attributes it to Kyle Shurmur’s growth and the work he’s put in. Said the off-season was special for him in mastering details and scheme.
RYAN WHITE
- What’s changed to change expectations from where VU was to where it is? “Coach Mason preached to us since he’s been there to trust the process. … As a team, we believe in where he’s taking us.”
- On SEC blowouts: It’s not surprising. If you don’t come ready to play, that’s what happens. It’s happened to them this year. Said they weren’t ready for Alabama and it showed on the scoreboard.
- On Jake Frohm: He’s similar to Jacob Eason. Throws a good deep ball and a good running game behind them.
- On stopping the run: when you have that many backs as GA has, that’s your No. 1 goal.
- When they get Herdon and Lewis back, it adds dimensions to their defense where they can fly around and do more things.
- Said Florida game, in a pass defense sense, came down to people not doing their jobs and focusing on the details
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